In order to connect the tourism industry with resources to combat the spread of the Zika virus, Governor Scott today directed the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and DOH to work with hotels, restaurants and attractions in Miami-Dade County on Zika prevention and education.
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One of the cases was in a relatively small area of Miami where health officials think active transmissions are occurring, according to information posted on the Florida Department of Health website.
“We don’t want to panic people”, she said.
The discovery opens a new front in the battle against the mosquito-borne virus, which has spread to more than 50 countries and territories since an outbreak began a year ago in Brazil.
In other recent news, Texas health officials on Monday reported what appears to be the first case of Zika infection traveling across state lines.
There are now four-travel associated cases in the county, said Chris Ericsson, the deputy health commissioner. A north Idaho woman was confirmed as having been infected with Zika virus, making this the first reported case of infection in the state.
Frieden said it is hard to predict how long active transmissions will continue. Reuters said two other babies born at Guatemala City’s Hospital Roosevelt are also suspected as having Zika-related microcephaly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put out an informational poster that reads, in part: “If you get infected with Zika and a mosquito bites you, you can pass the virus to the mosquito”.
At the moment, there are 35 locally-contracted Zika cases in Florida, and the state’s Department of Health is actively conducting nine investigations outside of the one-square mile in Miami-Dade County; eight cases are located in Miami-Dade and one in Palm Beach. The birth defect is marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems. Local mosquito populations could pick up the virus from a person returning from another area where Zika is active.
About 80 per cent of people infected with Zika virus have no symptoms.
In addition to these efforts, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has made available a survey for businesses in Miami-Dade County that may be impacted by the Zika virus to complete.
For people in Canada, the risk continues to be low since the mosquito species that normally transmits Zika virus can not survive the cold weather, the Public Health Agency of Canada says. The number of Zika cases there now total 10,690, with 1,035 of those being pregnant women.
The more than 1,800 Zika infections so far reported in the United States mainly have been linked to travel to countries with Zika outbreaks in Latin America or the Caribbean.
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Zika is transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are found throughout Florida and other states on the Gulf Coast.
